Art Center Entrance Portfolio

Below is the portfolio that I gave to Art Center that helped get me accepted. In addition to this, I included a recent sketchbook. I was awarded a small scholarship, an honor indeed. I'm showing this to give you ideas on how to put together your own portfolio, not as an instructional, step-by-step how-to. Just use it for inspiration.

Slim VR Goggles

I put the project that I had given the most thought to at the beginning, the Slim VR Goggles (from Intro to Product Design class). This opens up the portfolio with a "pow." For the ideas that took up several pages, I created an introductory page with sketchbook scans and some info on the design, including the Problem presented (the design parameters), the Solution (my take on the design), and the Class and Teacher (if applicable). I also put the pages in reverse time order, showing the final design in the beginning, ending with the early ideas. I think this shows how far the design progressed and gives the school an idea of your thought process. In Product Design, they want to see ideas more than pretty pictures. If you have great ideas and can't draw that well, you can still get in. They can teach you to draw better once you're in.

Gladiator 3000

The next set of drawings was based on the Gladiator 3000 idea, which is a compilation of various designs and ideas from the classes I had taken at Gnomon into one unified storyline. Some of the designs were small enough to fit two per page, but you should only do this if the artwork goes together—most of mine were a black & white and color version of the same design.

Flyboy™

The last set of drawings was based on the Flyboy attraction idea, which was from the Intro to Theme Park Design class I had taken at Art Center. I only included my favorite pieces, mainly to show the idea, and because it helped reinforce the entertainment design track I intended on pursuing within the Product Design degree.

Miscellaneous

The last few pages of drawings were various other product designs I had done, also from the Intro to Product Design class. This helped reinforce the main focus of the portfolio, to gain acceptance into the Product Design program.

And that's it! I also included my most recent sketchbook with the portfolio when I submitted it. If you don't have one, start sketching in one every day and include it. I hope this helps in some small way. Good luck in your future endeavors!